Winter Weather in Texas, December 5 to 6, 2013

Name: Winter Weather in Texas, December 5 to 6, 2013
Start: 2013-12-05T18:45
End: 2013-12-06T18:00
Location: Texas

December 5 to 6, 2013 · NWS SHV · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS SHV wrote it up.

Another cold shallow arctic airmass moved southeast out of the Southern Plains and into the Lower Mississippi Valley the first week of December. The shallow subfreezing airmass was overridden with a very warm and moist airmass such that freezing rain and sleet fell across the region. Ice accumulation was mainly less than one quarter of an inch but resulted in accumulation on bridges and overpasses, trees and powerlines. Some traffic accidents were noted across Northeast Texas during the height of the winter weather along with a few power outages.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Shreveport, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 5, 4:44 PM CST, 2 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 5, 4:44 PM CST, 2 hours 1 minute before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
444 PM CST THU DEC 5 2013

.DISCUSSION...
THE FREEZING LINE EXTENDS FROM TERREL...TO SULPHUR SPRINGS...TO
BOGOTA TEXAS...TO IDABEL...PICKENS AND POTEAU OK. TOPOGRAPHY IS
THE REASON AND AS THE COLD AIR DEEPENS A BIT IT WILL EXPAND
EASTWARD EARLY THIS EVENING. THE WARNING HAS BEEN SEGMENTED AS
MUCH OF THE HEAVY DENSE COLD AIR IS POURING SOUTH THROUGH VALLEYS
IN OUR AREA AND EXTENDS FROM A 1034 MB SFC HIGH OVER E WY. THE
FREEXING COLD AND VERY DRY AIR CONTINUES TO ADVECT SOUTH ACROSS
OK IN N TX. FREEZING RAIN WILL BE OUR PRIMARY CONCERN FOR ELEVATED
SURFACES. THE ROADS MAY HOLD OUT A GOOD WHILE YET...WITH A WARM
START FROM THE LAST FEW DAYS OF HIGHS SOME 15 TO 20 DEGREES ABOVE
AVERAGE FOR EARLY DECEMBER. MEANWHILE...THE COLDER AND DRIER AIR
IS MANEUVERING AROUND THE ELEVATIONS OF NW AR AND WILL BE SLOWER
IN COMING INTO SW AR. A COLD RAIN IS IN STORE FOR MUCH OF THE REST
OF THE AREA OVERNIGHT.

THE WATER VAPOR SHOWS THE SPOKES OF GATHERING MOISTURE ON THE DEEP
LOW MOVING OVER THE SW U.S. NOW. DIVERGENCE IS GOING TO BRING LIFT
AND A GOOD BIT OF E PAC MOISTURE INTO OUR AREA OVER THE NEXT 24
HRS AND AGAIN BEYOND FOR THE WEEKEND. WE MAY SEE ADVISORY
CRITERIA DEVELOP SOUTH OF OUR CURRENT WARNING AREA IN THE WEE
HOURS OF THE MORNING AND WILL BE ADDRESSED IN LATER UPDATES OR THE
NEXT ISSUANCE. THE MODELS PUSH OUT MOST PRECIP BY AROUND THIS TIME
TOMORROW. WPC QPF IS CURRENT AND AGREES WITH MODELS FOR THE MOST
PART...BUT MAY EVEN BE AN UNDER ESTIMATE.

ONCE THE ICE LAYS DOWN IT WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR TRAVEL FOR
AFFECTED AREAS. HOWEVER...THE WINDS WILL HELP SUBLIMATE AND PERHAPS
EVEN SOME EARLY SUNSHINE WILL BE OF HELP ON SATURDAY AHEAD OF THE
NEXT WINTER WEATHER EVENT. EURO IS MUCH FARTHER EAST...BUT GFS
STILL AFFECTS MUCH OF THE AREA. MAV IS EVEN COLDER FOR THIS TIME
FRAME SO DEBATE AND NEW RUNS WILL DETERMINE ADDITION WATCH
POTENTIAL PROBABLY POST 12Z RUNS TOMORROW FOR WHAT COULD BE A
BIGGER DEAL FOR EARLY SUNDAY TRAVELERS. WHILE QPF IS LIGHT THE
ROADS WILL ALSO BE CHILLED BY THIS TIME AND WITH MODEL SPREADS
SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY WILL BECOME PROBLEMATIC EVEN SOUTH OF
I-20 FROM LUFKIN TO MONROE. STAY TUNED TO LOCAL OUTLETS FOR THE
LATEST OVER THE COMING WEEKEND. /24/

&&

.AVIATION...
MOISTURE OVERSPREADING SHALLOW LAYER OF COLD AIR AT SFC.  N-NW WINDS
AROUND 10 TO 15 KTS THIS AFTN MAY DIMINISH TO 5 TO 10 KTS BY LATER
TONIGHT...BEFORE INCREASING ONCE AGAIN TO AT LEAST 15 KTS DURG DAY
ON FRIDAY. SOME LIGHT DRIZZLE WILL BRING VSBYS TO MVFR CAT...AND
CIGS HAVE LOWERED TO MOSTLY IFR TO LOW MVFR CATS ACROSS THE AREA.
HEAVIER PRECIP STILL TO THE NORTH AND WEST OF AREA...AND WILL CREEP
INTO NE TX AND SE OK AFTER 06/00Z. THE SFC FRZG LINE VERY CLOSE TO
LEADING EDGE OF THIS PRECIP...AND GIVEN SHALLOW COLD AIR BENEATH A
STEEP WARM NOSE...MUCH OF THIS PRECIP MAY OCCUR AS FRZG RAIN. ICING
MAY OCCUR ON EXPOSED SURFACES. HOWEVER...INITIAL WARM GROUND AND SFC
CONDITIONS MAY SLOW ONSET OF ICE ACCUMULATIONS ON EXPOSED SURFACES.
KTXK...KTYR...AND KGGG MAY TRANSITION TO FZRA AFTER 06/06Z DEPENDING
ON EXACT LOCATION OF FRZG LINE. PRECIP SHOULD TAPER OFF BY AROUND
06/18Z...WITH LOW CIGS CONTINUING FOR THE MOST PART...THRU THE DAY
SAT./VII/

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
SHV  37  38  26  36  30 / 100 100  20  50  70
MLU  38  38  27  36  32 /  80 100  40  50  70
DEQ  30  33  18  34  25 / 100 100  10  20  70
TXK  31  32  19  34  24 / 100 100  10  40  70
ELD  33  33  22  35  28 / 100 100  20  40  70
TYR  30  32  23  34  28 / 100 100  10  50  70
GGG  33  33  23  36  29 / 100 100  10  50  70
LFK  35  39  29  37  30 /  70 100  30  50  70

&&

.SHV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AR...ICE STORM WARNING FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 PM CST FRIDAY FOR
     THE FOLLOWING ZONES: ARZ050-051-059>061-070-071.

LA...NONE.
OK...ICE STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 PM CST FRIDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
     OKZ077.

TX...ICE STORM WARNING FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 PM CST FRIDAY FOR
     THE FOLLOWING ZONES: TXZ097-112.

     ICE STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 PM CST FRIDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
     TXZ096-108>111-124-125-136.

&&

24/07

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 5, 1:11 PM CST, 5 hours 34 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
111 PM CST THU DEC 5 2013

ARZ050-051-059>061-070-071-OKZ077-TXZ096-097-108>112-124-125-136-
061915-
SEVIER-HOWARD-LITTLE RIVER-HEMPSTEAD-NEVADA-MILLER-LAFAYETTE-
MCCURTAIN-RED RIVER-BOWIE-FRANKLIN-TITUS-CAMP-MORRIS-CASS-WOOD-
UPSHUR-SMITH-
111 PM CST THU DEC 5 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST
ARKANSAS...FOR SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND MUCH OF NORTHEAST TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

RAIN ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON WILL PICK UP IN COVERAGE AND
TO SOME EXTENT INTENSITY THIS EVENING...OVERNIGHT AND INTO FRIDAY
WITH OVERNIGHT SUBFREEZING TEMPERATURES WILL RESULT IN ICE
ACCUMULATION. MOST OF THE ICE ACCUMULATION WILL LIKELY BE ON
ELEVATED OBJECTS SUCH AS BRIDGES...OVERPASSES...TREES AND
ELECTRICAL LINES. POWER OUTAGES ARE POSSIBLE AND MAY LAST FOR MORE
THAN A DAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...

LIGHT RAIN OVER THE WEEKEND ALONG WITH SUBFREEZING TEMPERATURES
COULD LEAD TO ADDITIONAL ICE ACCUMULATIONS. OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS
WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL...AMATEUR RADIO
OPERATORS AND STORM SPOTTERS IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT.

ARZ072-073-LAZ001>006-010>014-017>022-TXZ126-137-138-149>153-
165>167-061915-
COLUMBIA-UNION AR-CADDO-BOSSIER-WEBSTER-CLAIBORNE-LINCOLN-
UNION LA-DE SOTO-RED RIVER-BIENVILLE-JACKSON-OUACHITA-SABINE LA-
NATCHITOCHES-WINN-GRANT-CALDWELL-LA SALLE-MARION-GREGG-HARRISON-
CHEROKEE-RUSK-PANOLA-NACOGDOCHES-SHELBY-ANGELINA-SAN AUGUSTINE-
SABINE TX-
111 PM CST THU DEC 5 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL
AND SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST
LOUISIANA...DEEP EAST TEXAS AND PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

AN ARCTIC FRONT HAS MOVED THROUGH THE AREA WITH SOME SHOWERS FROM
DEEP EAST TEXAS...INTO NORTHEAST LOUISIANA. OVERNIGHT ADDITIONAL
RAINFALL WILL CONTINUE WITH TEMPERATURES ABOVE FREEZING.
NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...

RAINFALL ENDS LATE ON FRIDAY...BUT WILL RESUME OVER THE WEEKEND ALONG
WITH SUBFREEZING TEMPERATURES COULD LEAD TO ICE ACCUMULATIONS FOR
PORTIONS OF THE AREA NORTH AND WEST OF A MONROE LOUISIANA TO
HEMPHILL TEXAS LINE. OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL...AMATEUR RADIO
OPERATORS AND STORM SPOTTERS WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

24

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Wood

When: December 5, 6:45 PM CST to December 6, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Wood forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 32.786, -95.382 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Bowie

When: December 6, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Bowie forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 33.446, -94.423 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Camp

When: December 6, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Camp forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 32.973, -94.978 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Cass

When: December 6, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Cass forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 33.078, -94.344 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Franklin

When: December 6, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 33.176, -95.218 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Morris

When: December 6, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Morris forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 33.114, -94.733 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Red River

When: December 6, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Red River forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 33.621, -95.050 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Smith

When: December 6, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Smith forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 32.375, -95.269 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Titus

When: December 6, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Titus forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 33.217, -94.966 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Upshur

When: December 6, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Upshur forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 32.736, -94.941 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Texas in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, December 2013

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 479886, 479876, 479877, 479878, 479880, 479881, 479882, 479883, 479884, 479885.